“Golf taught me that nothing is ever guaranteed,” says Melody Roccaz.
“Golf is such a mental game — you have to stay confident until the very last shot, even in the worst situations. You can’t give up on yourself,” the 23-year-old French golfer adds. “Over time, I learned that confidence isn’t something you either have or don’t have — it’s something you build through experience.”
Nothing is ever guaranteed. Having started in golf aged just five, Melody recognises what the game has given her. “Because I started early, I experienced the sport in a very natural and enjoyable way. It was all about pleasure at first — I made friends, played a lot, and truly fell in love with the game.”
It is only when you get a little older that you learn that golf is a neutral place and, like the nature around it, golf doesn’t favour any player one way or the other. The bumps and hollows on the course, the bounces good and bad, are not there to be kind to the enthusiastic youngster. The player has to impart their own personality on the game gradually, and discover and build their own character through playing, through failing, and succeeding.
Melody faced a significant added challenge. She would learn that it would take her own inner steel to adapt her game over the years when the degenerative neurological health condition she was born with threatened to erode youthful confidence. And Melody demonstrates that inner steel today. We requested an interview with her at a tournament in Portugal after her round. She was tired, we were asking a lot at that moment, but when Melody agreed to talk she then spoke fluently in her second language, smiling away at the camera, demonstrating her swing in detail, and explained at length (brilliantly) about what the game means and what it can offer anyone who plays.
“Growing up with this condition meant that my relationship with golf constantly had to evolve with my health,” says Melody. “Today, I use a wheelchair, but I’ve learned to adapt and continue pursuing my passion for golf. Looking ahead, I want to be a champion. It’s the biggest part of my life because I started so young, so it’s been a long time.”
Starting young also meant that training and hard work “never scared” Melody. Practising became normal, part of her routine. “Over the years, I evolved and my golf evolved with me. Golf helped me develop discipline and concentration, which really benefited me in school and in my overall behaviour. I truly believe that sport gives you structure and mental strength from a young age,” she explains.
Melody works as an Administrative Assistant for an international tech company called the Hardis Group and loves her job working in Seyssinet-Pariset; she lives in Échirolles near Grenoble and plays golf nearby at Golf de Charmeil. Melody has spoken publicly on a number of occasions about the power of her sport to encourage others to thrive, specifically people with a disability, including of course women and girls. It seems Melody recalls herself as a five-year-old playing for the first time and hopes to inspire other young girls to find their own confidence through learning and playing golf.
Worth noting also, as anyone who has played with Melody will tell you, all this youthful maturity is certainly counter-balanced on the fairways by a joy in playing, revealing a rich sense of humour: few players smile and laugh as much as Melody during a round of golf. The little girl is still very much there, loving the game, shot for shot.
Family legend has it that the very first time she played Melody only wanted to drive the ball, the five-year-old wanted to smack the ball hard, a habit her 23-year-old self still thrives on. Melody and her sister Marine loved the game from the start. Her Mum Stephanie had played at university and she introduced the game to her Dad, Thierry, who enjoyed the game so much he started working on a golf course and is a greenskeeper today. The youngster would watch and study her parents as they played.
Melody’s health condition has meant she has faced multiple difficulties in her early life, not least experiencing two strokes, which resulted in right-side hemiparesis and chronic pain. She had to take time away from her beloved golf but the sport was always in her heart, the game offered a deeply enriching family experience with many layers of love, support and the fun in playing together. Not just important for Melody but the whole family.
“I went from playing multiple competitive rounds and carrying my own bag to experiencing more and more fatigue. Over time, I had to reduce to one round maximum, until eventually I had to stop playing completely for two years because of my health. That period was extremely difficult.
“The support of my family during that time was everything. My parents were always there when I was younger, driving me to competitions and supporting me unconditionally. My mother has caddied for me many times — both when I was playing able-bodied events and later in disabled competitions.
“It was thanks to her that I discovered para-golf [golf for the disabled: ‘G4D’] through Handigolf France, an association which completely changed my life. I was able to return to the sport I love, first using a scooter and later with my ParaMotion [powered mobility device].”
Melody adds: “Through the association, I also met incredible friends who support me every single day. I will never be grateful enough for my family and for those friendships. They didn’t just support my golf — they supported me as a person during my most challenging moments.”
Watching Melody hit the golf ball on the course, but also hearing the sound created by the timing in the strike, has impressed so many of her fellow players in the EDGA supported tournaments she has contested in France, Italy, Germany, Portugal and England. Just like her younger self, Melody knows the ball is there to be hit.
“I don’t have enough power in my right arm, so I naturally let it go just after hitting the ball. Most of my strength and power now comes from my left arm, which affects my swing. I don’t have the power in my lower body. All the power I have comes from the rotating of my hands, arms and my shoulders, so that’s how I get speed in the shot. I can hit my driver about 180 metres.”
Her skill and dedication has led Melody to tournament success; at the time of writing she plays off a 12.3 golf Handicap Index and is the second highest female ranked player in the ‘Net’ list of the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD). In 2025 she qualified for the finals in the RSM European Play-offs in England and reached the semi-final of the women’s category. Meanwhile, an undoubted highlight in recent times was being part of the winning French team in the 2024 European Team Championship, organised by the European Golf Association. This remains a special memory for Melody as she found further confidence as a player and person by being part of such a positive team dynamic.
Melody says: “The atmosphere in the French team is absolutely incredible. From the very beginning, I felt welcomed and truly connected with everyone. I was a bit nervous when I first joined, but the team made me feel at ease right away.
“We are a team that works extremely well together. Our cohesion is one of our biggest strengths. We laugh a lot and have fun, but we also know when to be serious and focused. We showed that during the European Team Championship, without bragging, of course.
“Playing alongside some of the best French players has helped me learn so much, both technically and mentally. I’ve also made great friends, and being part of this team is really inspiring and motivating.”
Melody’s own encouragement of others has also been well-noted. During the 2025 French Championship, Melody met a young boy who used a wheelchair and had been closely following her performances. He was trying golf for himself with his parents. Melody recalls: “It was a beautiful experience, we took a picture together. I was almost more emotional than he was at that moment!”
For someone who has already achieved a lot, it’s time to look ahead for Melody, to help build the game further.
“We love playing with a variety of players on the course because it’s a sport where men and women can do the same thing and maybe women can be better than men sometimes. There are so many women who want to play golf and they say ‘no I can’t’, but it is such a great sport for women.”
Encouraging more female participants to play is crucial, as is her desire to encourage anyone with a disability to enjoy the same opportunities as others in both golf and sport, and of course, life in general. This can only happen, Melody argues, with greater tolerance and inclusion, which comes from respect.
“We want to be accepted first and we work for that. The one thing you can give us is respect because that is the thing we give to you. After all, we are the same golfers.”
Apart from her gratitude to her family, Melody thanks “my childhood coach, Jimmy, and Golf de Charmeil, who have always been there for me. I’m very grateful to Jean-Pierre Richart, the first person I met in para-golf, who introduced me to the Handigolf association — I owe him so much. My current caddie, Sylvain Treymet, has also been a great help.
“I’m also thankful for all the friends I’ve met through para-golf, for my French team coach Fred [Frédéric Cupillard], and for Damien, our team osteopath, who helps us stay physically strong during competitions. Finally, I want to thank my sponsors, who made it possible for me to get my first paragolfer and to continue playing: the Isère Department, the AURA Region, the Caisse d’Épargne Foundation, and the Isère Golf Committee.”
At the time of writing in 2026 Melody has her sights set on helping France to win the EGA European Team Championship for a second consecutive time and she dreams of winning the EGA European Individual Championship in 2027. Improving her place on the World Ranking and her golf Handicap Index are new goals as is maintaining a more consistent game throughout the year, especially her short game.
“I’m really excited about what the future holds. Overall, my focus is on growth — in golf, in my career, and in my personal life.”
For Melody, it seems that everything interlinks in life to give her that feeling of confidence to chart her own direction. It all started as a five-year-old on the tee, wanting to give the ball a huge whack with the driver.
“It’s a combination of a great sport; we need to have focus, every moment,” says Melody, smiling again. And now laughing as, after all, we have interrupted her practise for this interview, and she is ready to finish: “Golf gives me happiness. That’s an easy one, I don’t need to say anything else!”
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